"Thai-inspired,
the star of this dish is the creamy coconut-based
dressing infused with lemongrass, Keffir lime leaves, ginger and
shallots, balanced with a touch of tamarind, fresh lime juice, toasted
sesame oil and soy sauce. All of the flavours are enhanced through the
reduction of the coconut milk. Here, the dressing is used to bathe a
kelp noodle salad with chopped mango, cucumber, lima beans along with
mint, cilantro and cashews."

Dom elevates the humble coleslaw, with a really garlicky with
home-made olive-oil aioli. I can tell you that there is a secret
ingredient, but you wll have to head over there to find out. The other
secret to this recipe, is the finely peeled carrot, which gives this an
appealing tagliatelle texture. Much more interesting than grated carrot.
Sorry again Dom x

And now on to the winner. It was an especially tough decision this month, but we got a winner in the end. So without further ado, I would like to congratulate ....

Cooper and I made these brownies for our friend Andrew on his birthday. Although, to be honest Cooper did most of the work, I just organised him and finished things off. He was mighty proud of himself.

I went for a good kick of ginger in these brownies, as Andrew loves ginger. They would actually be pretty great flavoured with stem ginger, but I didn't have any, so I used ground ginger this time around.

They are very easy to make and you could easily change them up with some dried fruit, lemon peel, orange peel or maybe some chocolate chips. The recipe is quick and very forgiving. Our brownies were a little cakey, if you would like them more to be more fudgey, then slightly under-bake them. Go on, give them a go. If a two year old can bake them........

June 28, 2012

These easy brownies are great to whip up at the last minute and they are a fun way of introducing children to baking.

Ingredients

150g dark chocolate

150g butter

150g caster sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder & 3 tsp ground ginger

112g plain flour

2 large eggs, beaten

a pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160c fan/180c/350f/gas mark 4.2. Melt the butter, sugar and chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Take of the heat and leave to cool a little.3. Beat in the eggs.4. Mix the cocoa and salt into the flour, then pour into the chocolate mix and fold in until well combined.5. Pour the mixture into a brownie tray and bake for 25 minutes.6. Cut into 16 squares and dive in.

It is that time of the month again. Time for another round-up of No Croutons Required. This month I asked you to make me a salad, but to go leafless.

This month's round-up is coming to you from Cyprus, where I am sitting, overheated and trying not to cry as I just lost an hours work on this post and I am having to start again. I have had some virtual hugs on twitter, so I am ready to start again. I bet I was really witty and erudite the first time around. Oh well.

We will start of with my entry. I got mine in really early this month. So here is my winning leafless salad (it won Apertina's Salad of the Week).

Jean bought a smoothie machine for us coming over to stay with her. She knew that I make Cooper a lot of smoothies, to keep his quota of fruit consumption up. I tell you, it is really powerful machine compared to the one I have. Mind you mine is just a blender, but this one would easily blend vegetables, which to me is fabulous as I usually have to cook veg lightly before blending it. I am considering getting one myself. It is a Kenwood Smoothie Pro. Although Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours recommended a Vitamix. It might come down to price in the end.

Cooper has been enjoying strawberry based yoghurt smoothies, but I thought I would make one for the adults. Watermelons are rife here, so I started with that and added some other refreshing flavours. There is no dairy in this smoothie, just crisp, zingy flavours.

We also tried topping it up with sparkling lemonade on Jean's recommendation and it was lovely. A much milder flavour, but still refreshing.

I have been working as a Scotty Brand girl now for a few months and I have been waiting for this moment. It is strawberry season and so I received the most fabulous gift. A whole tray of strawberries, nestled into their punnets.

I guzzle so many strawberries in the summer and I do like to buy Scottish strawberries. When I have time, I go to a local farm for my berries, but if time is short then I look out for Scottish strawberries like these in the supermarkets. One of the things I like about buying from the local farm is knowing my berries come from and supporting the local farmers and this holds true for Scotty Brand. My strawberries were grown by the Bruce family in Perthshire, just a hop and a skip from me. They have been growing strawberries since 1898.

I wanted to make a dessert that would really show of the flavour of the strawberries, so I decided to make a cheesecake. I made this before I headed off to Cyprus and it was glorious, but unfortunately a bit soft set. So if you are making it, I would recommend adding a veggie style gelatin or using less strawberries for a firmer set. To be honest, I could have eaten the strawberry cream with a spoon before it even got near the cheesecake.

June 17, 2012

This is a creamy no-bake cheesecake, using the best of the seasons strawberries. It was a bit soft set, so I would recommend veggie style gelatine for a firmer set.

Ingredients

13 digestive biscuits (graham crackers)

100g butter, melted

500g mascarpone

300ml double cream

600g strawberries

6 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

a few sprinkles, to finish it off

Instructions

1. Crush the biscuits in a bowl with the end of a rolling pin until they are fine crumbs, then mix in the melted butter. Pour the mix into a 20cm loose bottomed cake tin and press down firmly. Pop into the fridge until you need it.2. Whip up the mascarpone and double cream until thick. 3. Whizz the strawberries up with the sugar and vanilla, until smooth.4. Fold the strawberry mix into the cream until well combined, then pour over the biscuit base and return to the fridge for a good hour. 5. Top the cheesecake with a few reserved strawberries and sprinkles.note: although the cheesecake was delicious, it was quite soft set. Next time I make it I will add some veggie style gelatin for a firmer set, but you could cut down on the amount of strawberries added instead.

I am submitting my cheesecake to Ren's Simple & In Season event. There is nothing more in season at the moment than strawberries. This month Simple & In Season is being hosted by How to Cook Good Food. If you would like to submit a recipe, you have until the 30th of June 2012.

I am also submitting my cheesecake to the June edition of Tea Time Treats. The topic is summer berries and it is being hosted this month by Kate over at What Kate Baked, who is Karen's co-host. If you would like to submit a tea time treat, then you have until the 28th June 2012.

Now don't be thinking these are Turkish Cheese Scones (North Cyprus) and getting all excited about a twist to the classic recipe. These are in fact a classic recipe made by Cooper and his Baba Anne (Jean). Baba Anne is Turkish for Father's Mother. I thought it might be nice to take you through some step-by-step photos of how to make them. They are very cheesey and light. Nice on their own or with a lovely big bowl of soup.

This is one of Jean's go-to recipes. It is from one of the few cookbooks she brought with her to Cyprus.

All Colour Cookery by Marguerite Patten. It is an big old book, published by Hamlyn in 1975. It doesn't have a jacket anymore, but it has a lot of great recipes in it and they are all illustrated. Each recipe is given in both imperial and metric measurements This copy is spilling with recipes that Jean has collected from magazines.

The original recipe is for a Cheese Scone Round, but there is no need to bake your scones in a circle. A bit of a waste of time if you ask me, although if you are going for that seventies look, then it is perfect.

The step-by-step photos show the way Jean and Cooper made the scones, the recipe (below) might be slightly different, but the ingredients are the same.

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5. Bring the dough together with your hands. Knead gently until you have a smooth dough. Whisk an egg (this will be the glaze).

6. Shape the dough or roll until it is 1 inch/2 ½ cm thick.

7. Cut rounds out with a biscuit cutter. Try not to twist the dough as you cut it, or they will rise a bit squint. I don't mind that too much. Keep re-rolling the dough and cutting out scones until all the dough has been used.

8. Brush your scones with egg.

9. Looking good!

10. Sprinkle a generous amount of grated Cheddar over each scone.

11. Ready to go in the oven.

12. Get an adult to help you put the scones in the oven.

13. Bake for 10-15 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum
Recipe from Marguerite Patten's All Colour Cookery
June 14, 2012

These easy cheese scones are very cheesy and light. Perfect on their own whilst still warm or served with soup.

Ingredients

200g plain flour

4 level teaspoons baking powder

½ level tsp salt

a pinch of dry mustard

50g butter

100g grated cheddar cheese

about 125ml milk

1 egg, to glaze

25g grated cheddar to top scones with

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 220c/200fan/425f/gas mark 7.2. Sieve the flour, baking powder, salt and mustard together and rub in the butter.3. Knead lightly and roll out to 1 inch/2 ½ cm thickness.4. Cut out rounds with a pastry cutter.5. Place the scones on a lightly floured baking tray. Brush the scones with egg and sprinkle with cheddar.6. bake for 10-15 minutes until well risen and golden.

Details

Total time: 15 mins Yield:makes 8-10 scones

Note: As a variation, Marguerite suggests using 1/2 pint of tomato juice instead of milk or adding a little Marmite to the milk for extra flavour.

Jean says they taste absolutely delicious if you add some drained and finely cut sundried tomatoes to the mixture. Now I cannot wait o try that!

You may have seen my post back in April where I showed you my new Moo business cards. They proved very popular and it seems everyone wanted a set and indeed a few people including Ren and Clare, have ordered a set for themselves since then.

I thought it might be a treat to give away a set and Dan at Moo agrees, so this is my June giveaway.